Since the present invention creates a system which is related to a number of systems that perform different traffic aspects and functions. It is better to start with components of the present invention to have a good understanding of how it works.
The present invention provides a system that utilizes radio signals and cellular network technologies along with GPS technology. The system consists of a number of electronic units, each one of these units performs a number of programmed functions to achieve a preferred overall operation of the system.
These units are: THE POLICE VEHICLE UNIT, THE EMERGENCY VEHICLE UNIT, THE ORDINARY VEHICLE UNIT “VEHICLE UNIT”, THE ROADWAY INTERSECTION UNIT “INTERSECTION UNIT”, THE PEDESTRIANS UNIT, THE LOGGING UNIT and RFID ACTIVE TAGS.
The Vehicle Unit
This unit uses a long range radio frequency transceiver module, preferably (one to two mile) range, and a short range radio frequency transceiver module, preferably (0.1 mile range), along with a cellular-network circuit board, antenna, a thermal module and a GPS receiver module. The circuit board is considered the brain component of the unit, it runs the entire system of the unit, the circuit board consist of a few computer chips. There are both digital-to-analog and analog-to-digital conversion computer chips within the circuit board. They convert audio signals going out from analog to digital, and then they convert the audio signals from digital back into analog.
The flash memory and ROM components of the unit circuit board serve as a storage location for the unit. They store the vehicle identification number “VIN” code, cellphone codes, the GPS digital map application, the GPS readings; “coordinates, speed, heading and date/time”, the RFID active tag readings “tag number and date/time”, and the in-car traffic light cycle application which is a component of the in-car traffic light system, as well as the entire operating system.
The microprocessor is in charge of dealing with all the tasks that are to be performed by the unit. It also focuses on the unit's control signals (to and from the base station) and command options. It helps to interconnect all of the terminal display main functions.
The liquid crystal display (LCD), is a terminal display and connected to the unit through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable and comprises a number of LED indicators, microphone, speaker, a camera and a number of buttons.
The vehicle unit is configured in a manner to disturb the vehicle “engine control unit” when the vehicle unit is being removed or tampered with. In another embodiment, the vehicle unit is integrated with the engine control unit to be more difficult to be removed.
The camera of the liquid crystal display (LCD) is used in creating the accident report file, the camera is configured to face the roadway and provides at least 10 minutes of recorded video to be used as an evidence in case of an accident or insurance dispute.
The Police Unit
This unit comprises similar electronic components as the vehicle unit, but its terminal display is a touch screen interface and capable of displaying colored pictures. The police unit can communicate with the vehicle unit via the long range or the short range radio frequency, also the police unit can communicate with the vehicle unit via the cellular network. In addition, the police unit can communicate with the intersection unit via the long range radio signal.
Furthermore, the police unit stores the “control operating system” which is responsible for all the control commands needed to manipulate the vehicle unit. The police unit also stores the preemption codes, and the vehicle model, type and class category application which is used in the high_speed pursuit and radar systems.
The Emergency Vehicle Unit
This unit comprises similar electronic components as the police vehicle unit, it can communicate with the intersection unit via the long range radio frequency signal. The emergency vehicle unit stores the preemption codes.
The Intersection Unit
This unit uses a long range (0.60 mile to 0.80 mile) radio frequency transceiver module to communicate with the emergency vehicle unit. Also it uses a short range (0.1 mile) transmitter to alert all of the non emergency vehicles close to the intersection. The intersection circuit board also comprises a microprocessor and memory chips, the memory stores all the preemption codes, the fixed time (for a single intersection) traffic light cycles and “activating and deactivating” codes. The intersection unit also comprises a GPS receiver module, and a rechargeable backup battery. This unit is synchronized via Global Positioning System (GPS) timing signals.
The Pedestrians Unit
This unit uses a radio frequency receiver module, to receive a trigger signal contains real-time transmitted by the intersection unit, this unit comprises a number of LED clusters of two different colors and a rechargeable backup battery. The “walk/don't walk” fixed time cycle is programmed in this unit.
The Logging Unit
This unit uses the short range (0.1 mile) radio frequency transceiver module to communicate with the vehicle unit, and comprises a memory to store the data transmitted by the vehicle unit. There are two types of logging units, the first type is “traffic logging unit”, and the second type is security or monitoring logging unit “spot logging unit”.
RFID Active Tags
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) active tags use a very short range preferably (2 to 3 meter) radio frequency to communicate with the vehicle unit over its short range frequency transceiver.
The Vehicle Model, Type and Class Category Application
Auto manufacturers worldwide produce variety of vehicles, which come in different sizes and body shapes each year, therefore each vehicle is defined by its make, model, body shape, year of built and its identification number. All of these characteristics may be summarized in a unique code, which is called VEHICLE IDENTIFICATION NUMBER code (VIN).
A VIN code, is a unique code including a serial number, used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles, as defined in ISO 3833.
The vehicle descriptor section of the VIN code is used to identify the vehicle type, the model and the body style. While, vehicle identifier section of the VIN is used to identify the individual vehicle.
The present invention creates the vehicle type/model file by reading the VIN to determine the make and model of the vehicle and by having a set of pictures taken from different angles for each vehicle model and store them in a file, the vehicles in the file are arranged in a list of categories, each category contains the vehicles that share the same body shape and size. The pictures in this file can take any desired color to resemble the color of a target vehicle. The vehicle type/model file could be updated and uploaded into the police unit on predetermined dates.
Cellular Communication Codes
CELL-PHONE CODES: All cell phones have special codes associated with them. These codes are used to identify the phone. But in the present invention these codes will be transmitted from the police unit to the vehicle unit to give the vehicle unit a temporary ability to connect to the cellular network. Each one of the police vehicles is assigned a number of sets of “Cell-phone Codes or SIM card data” to enable the police vehicle unit to lend the vehicle unit the necessary codes that are required for cellular communication.
Electronic Serial Number (ESN): a unique 32-bit number programmed into the phone when it is manufactured. Mobile Identification Number (MIN): a 10-digit number derived from any phone's number. System Identification Code (SID): a unique 15-bit number that is assigned to each carrier by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
When someone powers up his cellphone, his cellphone looks for the System Identification Code (SID), on the cellphone control channel. And when the cellphone receives the SID, the phone compares it to the SID programmed into the phone. If the SIDs match, the phone knows that the cell it is communicating with is part of its home system.
Along with the SID, the phone also transmits a registration request, and the Mobile Telephone Switching Office (MTSO) keeps track of the phone's location in a database. This way, the MTSO knows which cell he is in when it wants to call his phone. Therefore, the records of where his cellphone is located give a pretty good idea of where he is. The cellphone carrier, for example (AT&T) stores these records in a database and this may raise serious privacy concern issues if a third party such as National Security Agency (NSA), or other authority agency gets hold of these records without a search warrant. Normally the cellphone carriers charge the cellphone owner monthly fees for the subscribed service.
Presently many vehicle's location registration systems' utilize the cellular network technology to keep the vehicle's location continually recorded in a database, for monitoring, security purposes and traffic related matters. These systems require a permanent cellular subscribed service, which is very costly process when it deals with millions of vehicles, in addition to the violation of the vehicles' owners privacy.
The present invention creates an alternative method for, remotely, selectively and temporarily logging a motor vehicle to solve a specific matter, without compromising the privacy concerns of the innocent drivers. Also without the need for making them continually connected to the cellular network or paying for subscribed service.
The police vehicle unit communicates with the vehicle unit via a set of control commands to force it to execute a selected function or application. These control commands are listed and illustrated based on their purposes as following:
LOG command: Is used to log the VIN codes of the target vehicles into the police unit, the police unit transmits the LOG command combined with any of the following parameters “the target road name, the target direction, the vehicle position code, the police vehicle GPS coordinates, a reference speed, the target vehicle model, vehicle class category and the coordinates of a crime scene”. The police unit uses the short range (0.1 mile) or the long range (1 to 2 mile) frequency to transmit this command. If the unit transmitted the log command without road name or direction or position, then it will log vehicles in all directions by using the short range signal.
When the vehicle unit receives the police unit's GPS coordinates (the origin coordinates), it will calculate the distance between its coordinates and the origin coordinates, and after few seconds (2 to 3 seconds), it will calculate the new distance between its new coordinates and the origin coordinates. If the new distance is smaller than the first distance, then the vehicle is approaching the police vehicle. Thus, the position code will be “approach” to represent approaching, and if the new distance is greater than the first distance, then the vehicle is departing the police vehicle, and the position code will be “depart” to represent departing.
SPOT LOG command: Is used to log the VIN codes of vehicles near to make a complete stop into the spot logging unit, the spot logging unit will transmit the SPOT LOG command via the short range (0.1 mile) frequency after it receives a log request from a vehicle.
TRAFFIC LOG command: Is used to log the VIN codes of vehicles into the traffic logging unit, the traffic logging unit will transmit the TRAFFIC LOG command via the short range (0.1 mile) frequency.
RADAR command: Is used to log the VIN codes and a (speed report) of vehicles that speed above a (reference speed), the police unit will transmit this command combined with the reference speed, road name, target direction, vehicle position code (approach) and police vehicle GPS coordinates (the origin coordinates) via the long range (1 to 2 mile) frequency. The reference speed is a selected comparing-speed to report all vehicles that speed above it.
The speed report will include the number of times and the length of time in which the vehicle was speeding above a (reference speed) in the last 30 minutes of vehicle's movement.
The GPS receiver of the vehicle unit determines coordinates, speed, heading and date and time at real-time status. The vehicle unit will keep a record of these data for at least the last (30 minutes) to be used for the speed report.
CLONE command: Is used to allow the vehicle unit to periodically re-transmit any specific command “target command” transmitted by the police unit via the long range frequency. Generally, the target command could be (VIN report command) or (RFID tag report command). The clone command is used to widely increase the number of vehicles that will do the scan search of a particular vehicle or a particular RFID tag, cloning is a process to multiply the number of vehicles that mimic police vehicles in performing a search process.
CONNECT command is used to connect the target vehicle to the cellular network, the police unit will transmit this command combined with the cell-phone codes (SIM card codes) and a local dispatch center phone number. The target vehicle will periodically send its location data. Also the police officer or the local dispatch center can call the target vehicle or send control commands to it. The local dispatch center will continue track down the movement of the target vehicle and communicate with the police vehicles in the vicinity of the target vehicle. The connecting process could occur in a different scenario as disclosed in the detailed description.
VIN report command: Is used to allow the target vehicle to connect to the cellular network and send (location report), which is used for vehicle search process. The police unit will transmit the VIN report command combined with the cell-phone codes and the local dispatch center's phone number. The location report contains the VIN code of the vehicle and real-time location of it.
RFID tag command: Is used to allow the vehicles' units to send a report about a particular tag number “target tag”. The police unit will transmit the RFID tag command combined with the cell-phone codes, the local dispatch center's phone number, the target tag number and a time window.
Time window is a period of time in minutes, for example (60 or 120 minutes), to allow the vehicle unit to randomly select a time within the time window to connect to the cellular network and send the RFID tag report. This way if the tag was logged in a number of vehicles, each one of these vehicles can connect and report in different times without any possible interference.
FLASH command: Is used to flash the head and/or tail flashers of the target vehicle. The police unit will transmit this command over the short range or the long range frequency to the vehicle unit.
ALERT command: Is used to send an alert and warning text messages to the target vehicles and flashing the yellow LED indicator of them. The police unit will transmit this command over the short or long range frequency to the vehicle unit.
STOP command: Is used to slow down the target vehicle then stop it by disturbing the fuel system or the electric system of the target vehicle. The police unit will transmit this command over the short range or the long range frequency to vehicle unit. Also the police unit can send this command after connecting the target vehicle to the cellular network.
RELEASE command: Is used to release the target vehicle unit from the control commands of the police unit or the dispatch center, the command will tell the vehicle unit to delete the cellphone codes and disconnect with the cellular network.
The police vehicle unit and the emergency vehicle unit also communicate with the intersection unit via the preemption codes and ACTIVATING/DEACTIVATING command.
ACTIVATING/DEACTIVATING command: Is used to allow the intersection unit to use the fixed time traffic light cycles at predetermined time, the police unit or the maintenance crew will transmit this command over long range frequency to the intersection unit.
The Police LCD Unit Interfaces
The police liquid crystal display (LCD), is a touch screen terminal display, it is connected to the police unit through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable and comprises a number of LED indicators, microphone, speaker, a camera and a number of buttons. The display processor and software are responsible to interpret input from the touch-screen as commands. The police officer can access the control commands by either the touch screen input or by voice.
Voice recognition software designed to place each phoneme in a context based on the other phonemes in the software, which immediately picks up or registers from the police officer. The software program accomplishes this by running the phonemes through a statistical model based on mathematical computations called algorithms, and by comparing the phonemes with a library of command words, phrases and sentences it has stored. The voice recognition program then outputs the officer's words as text or executes the appropriate command. This way the police officer can comfortably use the police unit and focuses on driving his vehicle with a lot of concentration while driving in high speed. Thus, to achieve a high efficiency of the present invention.
Also the police LCD display comprises a number of buttons, one button for turning on/off the preemption system, by pressing on this button, the police vehicle unit transmits the preemption codes, another button to send the right-turning preemption request, another button to send the left-turning preemption request over the long range frequency, and another button to turn on/off the in-car traffic light system.
The Vehicle LCD Unit
This terminal display may be either touch-screen or non touch-screen, its main job is to display the alert messages that transmitted by the police unit, intersection unit or traffic logging unit, or in some cases to display alert messages related to the digital map. In some other embodiments the touch-screen display may be used for customized applications or programs such as some applications come with the cell phones. The display comprises a green LED indicator, a yellow LED indicator, a red LED indicator, a green right arrow LED indicator, and a green left arrow LED indicator. When the vehicle unit receives any alert message from; a police unit, a traffic logging unit or an intersection unit, the yellow LED indicator will start flashing. Generally, the LED indicators are used to illuminate the synchronized LED's in-car traffic light cycle.
Also the LCD display comprises a number of buttons, one button for help assistance, by pressing on this button, the vehicle unit transmits a help signal over the long range frequency, another button to turn on/off the in-car traffic light system. Furthermore, another button to turn on/off the in-car traffic (stop signs and the other traffic relevant alert messages).
Intersection Design
Intersection design can vary widely in terms of size, shape, number of travel lanes, and number of turn lanes. Basically, there are three types of at-grade intersections, determined by the number of intersecting legs, topography, traffic patterns, and the desired type of operation. Each roadway radiating from an intersection is called a “leg” Most intersections have four legs, which is generally accepted as the maximum recommended number for safety and capacity reasons. The three basic intersection types are: “T” intersection (three approach legs), Fourleg intersection, and Multileg intersection (five or more approach legs). The design for an intersection corner radius is based on the selection of a reasonable design vehicle for the specific location. Design vehicles can range from large (tractor-trailer combinations) to small vehicles. Therefore the need to determine the volume of traffic and the size of the vehicles which are crossing an intersection or making a right/left turning are vital for designing a safe and an efficient intersection.
The present invention provides a system and a method to determine the volume and the sizes of the vehicles to be used for an intersection design. The traffic logging unit is responsible for collecting the traffic data needed for the intersection design. By assigning a traffic logging unit for each one of the intersection legs, the traffic logging unit will periodically send a TRAFFIC LOG command via the short range (0.1 mile) frequency, all vehicles travelling on each leg will transmit the VIN codes. And by collecting the data stored in each one of the traffic logging unit, we can determine the volume of traffic and the size of the vehicles that crossing and turning at an intersection. When the traffic logging unit sends the traffic log command, the yellow LED indicator will start flashing and a (COLLECTING TRAFFIC DATA) alert message will appear on the screen of the vehicle's display.
The GPS Digital Map Application
The present invention creates a GPS digital map, in which the roadway intersection legs are defined as leg segments, these segments enable the vehicle unit to identify any specific leg or approach of any roadway intersection, the GPS receiver in the vehicle unit enables the unit to determine the coordinates, speed, heading and date/time at real-time status, by matching and comparing the GPS coordinates to the data from the GPS digital map, the unit can determine the exact leg segment. The segment could be a section of a road between two consecutive road-intersections, or it could be an intersection leg of a length lies between (0.1 mile and 0.5 mile).
Generally, each leg segment is identified by the name of its roadway and a serial number. Occasionally, some cities may have similar road names, therefore the GPS digital map uses special codes similar to the zip codes to identify different cities. The road names could be coded to eliminate any chance of having a repeated name for different roads.
The In-Car Traffic Light System
A typical two-road intersection generally has four legs, each intersection leg is represented by a leg segment. Traffic lights are used to control safety and regulate traffic at intersections, by alternating the right of way accorded to the moving vehicles.
The green light allows traffic to proceed, the yellow light indicating prepare to stop short of the intersection, and the red light prohibits any traffic from proceeding.
Flashing red: treated as a stop sign, also can signal the road is closed. Flashing yellow: caution, crossing or road hazard ahead. Flashing green: varies among jurisdiction; can give permission to go straight as well as make a left turn in front of opposing traffic (which is held by a steady red light), can indicate the end of a green cycle before the light changes to a solid yellow, or (as in some countries indicates the intersection is a pedestrian crosswalk).
The rapid growth in the developing countries has caused a problem with the demand of electricity. Rolling blackouts have been occurring on a regular basis, oil and gas companies cannot supply enough gas to meet the demand, and system failures have also plagued these countries. While going without power for a few hours once in a while is tolerable, it becomes very aggravating when it happens day after day, month after month. Also hurricanes and severe storms can knockout power-lines and cause blackout. Traffic light relies on electricity to illuminate its lamps or its displays to control the traffic in busy roads. Generally when a traffic light is non-operational, all drivers are required to stop at the intersection, take turns as if it were a four-way stop and proceed through with caution, but that does not always happen and car accidents are sadly a frequent result. Additionally, heavy fogs, snow storms and sandstorms may cause the vehicles' operators to lose the line-of-sight with the traffic light.
Presently, some systems utilize a mobile traffic light apparatus to be used temporarily at a dysfunctional intersection, but these systems proved unreliable when it takes long time to install these apparatus, or when the non-operational traffic lights cover a wide area, along with the high cost of these apparatus. Therefore the present invention creates in-car traffic light system to overcome the problems caused by the lack of traffic lights, the lack of traffic signs, the lack of line-of-sight with the road traffic light, or the non-operational traffic light.
Computer scientists at Carnegie Mellon University are working on a system that would replace conventional traffic lights with virtual ones—with stop and go signals appearing directly on the windshield or dashboard.
The Virtual Traffic Light project will use sensors in cars to co-ordinate their location.
‘Our approach in this project will take advantage of the the ability of vehicles to communicate with each other, thus creating a distributed and highly reliable system of in-vehicle virtual traffic lights (VTL)’, they say.
The system works by using a leading vehicle that works as a temporary virtual infrastructure, stopping under a virtual red light at the entrance of the intersection and broadcasting virtual traffic light messages that are listened by the vehicles approaching the intersection.
The weaknesses of this system are that, the system not very efficient because of its complexity and that its traffic cycles are slower than the normal street traffic light cycles which may lead to intersection jams.
While the present invention creates in-car traffic light system that do not depend on vehicle to vehicle communication or intersection to vehicle communication with extremely high efficiency that mimics the actual street traffic lights performance. Also, the present invention creates in-car traffic light system that can work on smartphones and consumer-grade GPS receiver units.
Traffic signal timing is used to determine which approach has the right-of-way at an intersection, and how much green time the traffic light shall provide at an intersection approach, how long the yellow interval, how long the red light and how long green turning light, should be, and how long the pedestrian “walk” signal should be.
Intersections equipped with vehicle's detection devices are called ‘actuated’. While intersections without detection are called ‘fixed’. In the fixed operation, the intersection controller uses a set programmed time to alternate the right of way every cycle, the duration for each light is always the same. While in the actuated or semi-actuated operation, the light duration may change every cycle, based on the volume of the traffic on the proceeded approach. Many intersection controllers in the major cities use the semi-actuated system, which is suitable for a changeable traffic volume during the different hours of the day.
The present invention creates a fixed time cycle system. Wherein the traffic may vary during the different hours of the day at an intersection. Therefore, the present system divides the day into two or three hour-portions. One portion represents the high traffic hours, the second portion represents the medium traffic hours, and the third portion represents the low traffic hours. For each portion, the time duration for the green, yellow and red, turning and pedestrians, light signals will mimic the average time duration of the actuated timing, and each intersection leg segment will be represented by corresponding timing cycle.
By using the intersection types, the present invention creates a cycle file, in this file, all possible types of leg segments will be represented by the appropriate timing cycle. Additionally, each intersection unit will program its fixed time cycles for each one of its leg segments.
Since the vehicle unit uses the fixed time traffic light cycle file, in situations like weak visibility during fog storms, sandstorms. The intersection unit will activate the fixed time cycles which exactly match the fixed time cycles programmed in the vehicle unit to prevent any conflict between the in-car traffic light and the intersection traffic light. While in the other situations wherein, there is a dysfunctional intersection, or no traffic lights or no traffic signs there will not be any conflict.
The traffic maintenance crew or the police vehicles may activate/deactivate the intersection unit fixed time cycles by transmitting the activating/deactivating code at any reasonable time. The intersection unit receives the activating code and start the activation at a predetermined time such as 3:00 AM for example. After the weather allows the intersection traffic light to go back to the normal function, the traffic maintenance crew or the police vehicles transmit the deactivating code to the intersection units, the intersection unit will receive the deactivating code and end the activation at a predetermined time.
The pedestrians unit will program the “walk/don't walk” fixed time cycle, and when there will be power outage at the intersection, the intersection unit will use the backup battery to send a signal with the real-time to trigger the pedestrians unit to start displaying using its backup battery. Also the intersection unit will send a signal with the real-time to trigger the pedestrians unit to start displaying in the case of activating the intersection unit fixed time cycles.
When the vehicle's operator activates the in-car traffic light, the vehicle unit's GPS receiver determines the coordinates, speed, heading and date/time at real-time status, and by using the GPS digital map, the vehicle unit can determine the corresponding leg segment, the leg segment along with the direction will trigger the appropriate leg cycle. And the vehicle's LCD will illuminate the corresponding LED indicator. Moreover the GPS digital map file and fixed time cycles file could be updated and uploaded into the vehicle unit on predetermined dates.
Roadside Assistance
Roadside assistance is very important for many emergency situations. Vehicles may stuck on the side of the road with a flat tire, an empty gas tank or vehicle's mechanical issues. Also sudden health issues may cause the driver or the passengers to seek urgent help.
Presently cellular networks almost cover most of the cities, but in some unexpected areas drivers may suffer a loss cellular signal for many reasons, such as weak signal, unpaid cellular service fees, or an empty cellphone's battery.
The present invention provides an alternative method for the drivers to get roadside assistance in case of no cellular service in an area they may be stuck in. The driver can press on “help” button, or by using voice recognition, the vehicle unit will periodically transmit “help” signal over the long range frequency, and when any police vehicle travels by the area of the signal, the “help” alert will appear on its display along with the location of the vehicle that sent the help request.
Roadway Safety Alert
A traffic collision or traffic accident occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, utility poles, concrete barricades on the freeway, or pedestrians. Traffic accidents may cause severe injuries, death, and property damage. The impact of the collisions may lead to psychological trauma, long lasting injury issues, or significant financial debts.
Most of the accidents take place due to a number of factors, which varies, from human errors (i.e. speeding, driving skill level or impairment.) to weather condition factors which may affect the roads by making them slippery due to snow fall or heavy rain.
The present invention provides a method to alert and warn the drivers of the upcoming accidents approach to guide them to pass safely thru an accident scene to avoid more collisions at the original accident site. When the police is notified about an accident on a freeway, the police can periodically transmit an “accident” alert message combined with instructions of how to safely approach the site of the accident by telling the drivers which lanes are safe to use and what speed is suitable. Also to direct the approaching traffic to follow a detour passage in case of road repair or traffic jam. The transmitted messages will be displayed on the vehicle LCD unit, also the yellow LED indicator will be flashing.
The Accident Report
Individuals involved in motor vehicle accidents can be held financially liable for the consequences of an accident, including property damage, injuries to passengers and drivers, and fatalities. Because these costs can easily exceed the annual income of the average driver, most US states require drivers to carry liability insurance to cover these potential costs. However, in the event of severe injuries or fatalities, victims may seek damages in civil court, often for well in excess of the value of insurance. Additionally, drivers who are involved in a collision frequently receive one or more traffic citations, usually directly addressing any material violations such as speeding, failure to obey a traffic control device, or driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. In the event of a fatality, a charge of vehicular homicide is occasionally prosecuted, especially in cases involving alcohol. Therefore, the present invention provides a system to create (an accident report) to be used in accident cases. The vehicle unit's GPS receiver determines the coordinates, speed, heading and date/time at real-time status, these data will be continually recorded for at least 30 minutes. Then the last 5 minutes of the GPS recordings along with 10 minutes of recorded video of the roadway, wherein 5 minutes of the recorded video is recorded after the vehicle fully stopped. When the vehicle comes to a complete stop just after an accident, its speed will come to (zero) and the microprocessor of vehicle unit will trigger the memory to save the last 5 minutes of the video recording and to continue recording and saving the video for another 5 minutes after the speed becomes (zero). The law enforcement officer can download the accident report file by connecting his portable computer to the vehicle LCD display via a USB cable.
The High-Speed Pursuit
High-speed police pursuit is a very dangerous task for law enforcement and the public when a suspect uses a vehicle to escape from law enforcement attempting to stop or arrest him, the high-speed chase is considered as a road-safety problem, specially when innocent drivers not involved in the pursuit may be struck by the elusive suspect in his attempt to escape, or by the police vehicles during the chase.
A number of techniques used by police to end the chases, from pleading with the suspect, disabling the suspect's vehicle by shooting out tires, or the use of spike stripes, or boxing in the suspect's vehicle with police cruisers. All of the forceful methods may impose risk and harm to all involved as well as innocent bystanders.
Few attempts been made to remotely disabling the fleeing vehicles but those attempts face severe weaknesses or unreliable to achieve the goal of having low-risk and efficient systems.
Some of the remotely controlling systems such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,470,260 of Martens et al, the system utilize RF signals to send control commands to the target vehicle, after first identifying vehicles in the vicinity of the targeted vehicle, following the targeted vehicle until it is the only vehicle remaining of the originally identified vehicles, and then apprehending the targeted vehicle, also by identifying a select group of vehicles using vehicle descriptor limitations.
The weaknesses of this system are that, the system not very efficient when many vehicles share same descriptor limitations, or when the RF response signals come from other directions along with the target vehicle's direction, this will increase the number of the responding vehicles which may fit the descriptor limitations.
Some other systems use RF transmitters are very unreliable when they rely on license plates to identify the pursued vehicles, specially if the suspect uses stolen license plates or the law enforcement officer unable to obtain a line-of-sight with the target vehicle. Also all of these systems are unreliable when the target vehicle goes outside the range of the control signal that transmitted by the police vehicle unit.
The present high-speed pursuit system enables the law enforcement to safely chase and control a target vehicle. When the police is informed about a suspect vehicle fleeing a scene of a crime or refused to obey a police stop request or when the police assumes that a target vehicle moving on a certain road, the police vehicle unit transmits a log command. The police unit will transmit this command combined with a reference speed, road name, target direction, vehicle position code and police vehicle GPS coordinates via the long range frequency. And by using the vehicle model, type and class application, all of the speeding vehicles will appear in a list of vehicle category on the LCD display of the police unit, the police can select the vehicle category that fits the initial descriptions of the target vehicle from the list of the speeding vehicles. Then after selecting the right category, he can pinpoint the exact target vehicle, and by the using the programmed pictures of the vehicle model he can confirm his work. After that the police transmits a connect command. Connect command is used to connect the target vehicle to the cellular network, the police unit will transmit this command combined with the cell-phone codes and a local dispatch center phone number. The target vehicle will periodically send its location data.
Also the police officer or the local dispatch center can call the target vehicle or send control commands to it. The local dispatch center will continue tracking down the movement of the target vehicle and communicate with the police vehicles in the vicinity of the target vehicle. Therefore, the police can alert and warn or talk with the suspect or to stop his vehicle safely.
However, if the target vehicle is blending with non speeding vehicles, in this case the police will approach closely the vicinity of the target vehicle and sends a log command. The police unit transmits the log command combined with the target vehicle make or model or body class type. The police unit uses the short range frequency to transmit this command. If the police unit transmitted the log command without road name or direction or position, it will log vehicles in all directions. Also the logged vehicles will appear in a category list, and by selecting the right category, the police can pinpoint the exact target vehicle from the list, and send a connect command to it, and communicating with it. All of these commands can be inputted via the voice recognition application to enhance the safety of the law enforcement personnel while chasing the suspect.
Roadway Radar System
Highway patrol officers rely on radar/laser guns to detect speeding vehicles, basically the police aims his handheld radar unit toward a specific moving vehicle to determine its speed then issues a speeding violation ticket to the driver if the detected speed is far away above the posted speed limit.
The police uses line-of-sight with the target vehicle when aiming his radar toward it and instantly reads the detected speed, the police randomly select the target vehicle travelling in the vicinity of other vehicles. However some speeding drivers are very skilled to spot the police cruiser shortly before the police aims his radar toward them or they slow down just after they notice other vehicles ahead of them being a target of the police radar, this process does not differentiate between the actual speeders and the unlucky drivers who may be just speeding for short period of time, also this process may disturb the traffic when the speeding vehicles suddenly drop their speed after they notice the police vehicle aiming the radar gun toward them.
The present invention provides a method to fairly detect speeding vehicles. The police will send a radar command via the long range signal, and the speeding vehicles will appear in a list on the police unit display, each vehicle in this list will show a speeding report, in this report the number of times and the length of time the vehicle was speeding over a selected (reference speed) in the last 30 minutes of movement for example. The police unit is programmed to give a higher priority to the larger vehicles along with higher length of speeding time, the bigger the vehicle size along with longer span of speeding time is an ideal candidate to top the list for citation. While, the cited vehicle was speeding over the reference speed when it received the radar command. Therefore the police can fairly send a speeding alert to the top of the list and communicate with it. Also this process can be automatically done by the police unit.
Law Enforcement Safety During a Check of a Vehicle
Stop and frisk has been an effective tool for police since the 1968 case Terry v. Ohio, when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of it. The court agreed with the police that officers face uncertain and dangerous situations on the streets, circumstances that can potentially threaten both law enforcement officers and the public. For this reason, police officers need a set of flexible responses that allow them to react based on the information they possess. Thus, distinctions should be made between a stop and an arrest (or seizure of a person), and between a frisk and a search. Under the Terry ruling, a police officer may stop and detain a person based on reasonable suspicion. And, if the police reasonably suspect the person is armed and dangerous, they may also frisk him or her for weapons.
Another example, a car driver might have been pulled over because he was driving erratically. However, a smell coming from the car or signs of slowed reflexes on his part may have indicated he is using some type of drug or alcohol.
If the officer decided to search his car from glove box to trunk based on the suspicion that he is using and possibly transporting an illegal substance, this would be probable cause.
The present invention provides a method to enhance the safety of police officers during a reasonable suspicion to stop and check a vehicle. When the officer decides to pull over a vehicle, he will send a (log command) to the vehicle, the logged vehicles will appear in a list, and by selecting the target vehicle from the list, the police can send connect command to connect it to the network, the local dispatch center will show the target vehicle on the tracking digital map.
Therefore, the police can alert the driver by sending warning and instruction text messages and/or talk with the driver or to stop his vehicle safely. This method may discourage the driver or the car's passengers to attempt to flee or causing harm to the officer when he realizes that his vehicle is being tracked and controlled by the law enforcement officer.
Emergency Vehicle Intersection Preemption System
The present invention provides a system to grant the emergency vehicle the right of way at an intersection by making the intersection traffic controller responds to the priority request transmitted by the emergency vehicle to manipulate the approached traffic light to green signal, also to manipulate the approached right/left turning light to green signal when the intersection unit receives a right/left turning request signal from the approaching emergency vehicle.
The Emergency Vehicle Unit
This unit is exactly as the vehicle unit, but it can communicate with the intersection unit via the long range (one to two mile) radio frequency signal. The emergency vehicle unit will periodically transmit the preemption codes, these codes will be checked by the intersection unit to decide whether to grant the preemption request or ignore it.
The Preemption Process
The emergency vehicle transmits the preemption codes to the intersection units to request priority passages as the following process:
The Preemption Codes
1—A passcode, one of the names of the intersection roadways will be the passcode, for example if the intersection is two-road intersection, then either name of the two names of the roads will be a passcode.
2—The emergency vehicle coordinates, the intersection unit will calculate the distance between the intersection and the emergency vehicle by using its coordinates and the emergency vehicle's coordinates, and when the distance lies between (0.6 mile and 0.4 mile), the intersection unit will trigger the traffic controller to change the light signals regardless the speed of the emergency vehicle.
3—The emergency vehicle class type, (fire trucks, ambulances and police vehicles) will be class “A”, but fire trucks have higher priority over ambulances, and ambulances have higher priority over police vehicles for example, lower class vehicles such as buses will be class “B”.
4—Right turning code and left turning code, the intersection unit will trigger the traffic controller to allow turning when the distance between the emergency vehicle and the intersection lies between (0.2 mile and 0.1 mile).
5—The heading code, this code tells the intersection unit which specific light to turn to green.
The emergency vehicle unit will determine the road names by matching and comparing the GPS coordinates to the data from the digital map, and periodically transmits the road names combined with the preemption codes via the long range radio frequency. Therefore, the intersection units will be alerted enough time before the start of the light signals changing process. Each intersection unit stores its coordinates and the names of its roadways, also each intersection unit has an ID, the intersection coordinates could be used as an ID to identify the intersection unit.
The intersection unit receives the names consecutively and compare them to the names that stored in its memory, and if one name matches, then it will go to the next step, which is reading the vehicle class type, vehicle ID, direction of travelling and the emergency vehicle's coordinates. It will decide the order of priority based on the class type of the vehicle and/or first come first served manner. Thus it will grant the preemption and alert all the emergency vehicles covered by its long range signal enough time before it is actually changes the intersection light signals.
The intersection unit programmed to recognize the type of the emergency vehicle, and will give the priority to fire truck over the ambulance, and the ambulance over the police car. The lower class vehicles, such as the buses, will transmit the preemption request over the short range (0.1 mile) radio signal.
After the intersection unit grant the preemption, it will transmit (the vehicle's ID, the road name, the heading) of the preempted vehicle and the intersection coordinates over a (0.60 mile to 0.80 mile) range radio signal. When the emergency vehicle receives the data from the intersection unit, the emergency vehicle green LED indicator will illuminate if its vehicle's ID matches the vehicle's ID transmitted by the intersection unit, and the alert message will be for example; (ACCESS OK, heading), but if its vehicle's 1D does not match the vehicle's 1D transmitted by the intersection unit, its yellow LED indicator will start flashing and the alert message will be (“emergency vehicle”, heading) and another message includes (the names of the intersection roadways) based on the intersection coordinates.
When the distance between the emergency vehicle and the intersection lies between (0.6 mile and 0.4 mile), the intersection unit will trigger the traffic controller to change the light signals regardless the speed of the emergency vehicle, it will give a predetermined period of time (6 or 7 seconds) for example for a yellow signal light in the direction of the approaches that may conflict with the emergency vehicle approach before it turns into red signal light. Also the intersection unit will tell the intersection controller to complete the normal timing of the light cycles if there was no conflict with the approaching emergency vehicle or to extend the green time until the end of the preemption.
When the emergency vehicle wants to make a right/left turning, the emergency vehicle's operator must press on the right/left turning button to transmit the turning request signal. The intersection unit will receive the turning request code and grant the turning when the emergency vehicle's distance lies between (0.2 mile and 0.1 mile). The main reason for this distance restriction is to prevent as many unaffected intersections from executing the turning request, thus to not disturb the unaffected traffic at other intersections. There will be 5 or 6 seconds of yellow interval signal in the direction of the approaching that interfere with turning of the emergency vehicle before it turns to red signal.
Additionally, when the intersection unit triggers the controller to change the light signals, the other non emergency vehicles will start flashing their yellow LED indicators and the alert message will be (“emergency vehicle” . . . “road name” . . . heading) when they receive an alert signal transmitted by the intersection unit's short range (0.1 mile) transmitter. And in case of using pedestrians units, their LED indicators will start flashing when they receive a signal transmitted by the intersection unit. The pedestrians units programmed to recognize their respective intersection unit ID. For example, the intersection coordinates could be used as an ID for the intersection unit, thus the pedestrians units will respond only to their respective intersection unit.
In some occasions the vehicles may receive more than one alert message from different intersection units. In this case, the vehicle display will show the travelling road name along with the heading for each preempted emergency vehicle. Also the vehicle yellow LED indicator will be flashing. Additionally, in the case of a lower class type vehicle is granted the preemption, the intersection unit will not transmit any alert messages. Therefore, neither the vehicle's display or the pedestrian units will be affected.
The intersection unit will consider the end of the preemption of class “A” vehicles when the distance between the emergency vehicle and the intersection lies between (0.1 mile and zero), also it will consider the end of the preemption when it receives names not stored in its memory. After the end of the preemption, the light signals will remain the same for 10 to 15 seconds before the intersection controller goes back to its normal timing. For class B vehicles the preemption process will take a predetermined period of time such as 30 seconds or 20 seconds before the controller goes back to its normal timing.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,327,280 of Bachelder et al; provides an emergency vehicle traffic light preemption system for preemption of traffic lights at an intersection to allow safe passage of emergency vehicles. The system includes a real-time status monitor of an intersection which is relayed to a control module for transmission to emergency vehicles as well as to a central dispatch office. The system also provides for audio warnings at an intersection to protect pedestrians who may not be in a position to see visual warnings or for various reasons cannot hear the approach of emergency vehicles. A transponder mounted on an emergency vehicle provides autonomous control so the vehicle operator can attend to getting to an emergency and not be concerned with the operation of the system. Activation of a priority-code (i.e. Code-3) situation provides communications with each intersection being approached by an emergency vehicle and indicates whether the intersection is preempted or if there is any conflict with other approaching emergency vehicles. On-board diagnostics handle various information including heading, speed, and acceleration sent to a control module which is transmitted to an intersection and which also simultaneously receives information regarding the status of an intersection. Real-time communications and operations software allow central and remote monitoring, logging, and command of intersections and vehicles.
The weaknesses of this system are its complexity and it relies on network communications between the emergency vehicles and the intersections, which will increase the cost of operating and maintaining the system, thus, further delays deployment.
U.S. Pat. No. 8,610,596 of Johnson; provides Management of traffic signal preemption control equipment. In one approach, logged preemption data is periodically read from each of a plurality of intersections having respective preemption controllers for preempting traffic signals at the intersections. The logged preemption data at an intersection describes operational states of the preemption controller and each vehicle control unit that submitted a preemption request at the intersection and data describing each individual preemption request. The logged preemption data read from the plurality of intersections are stored in a database. The database is monitored for data indicative of changes in operational status of the traffic signal preemption control equipment. In response to the data indicating a change in operational status, data descriptive of the change are output.
This system utilizes the Opticom® Priority Control System, the OPTICOM GPS priority control system, or a networked system. The Opticom® GPS system utilizes a GPS receiver in the vehicle to determine location, speed, and heading of the vehicle. The information is combined with security coding information that consists of an agency identifier, vehicle class, and vehicle ID and is broadcast via a proprietary 2.4 GHz radio.
An equivalent 2.4 GHz radio located at the intersection along with associated electronics receives the broadcasted vehicle information. Approaches to the intersection are mapped using either collected GPS readings from a vehicle traversing the approaches or using location information taken from a map database. The vehicle location and direction are used to determine on which of the mapped approaches the vehicle is approaching toward the intersection and the relative proximity to it. The speed and location of the vehicle are used to determine the estimated time of arrival (ETA) at the intersection and the travel distance from the intersection. ETA and travel distances are associated with each intersection approach to determine when a detected vehicle is within range of the intersection and, therefore, a preemption candidate. Preemption candidates with valid security codes are reviewed with other detected vehicles to determine the highest priority vehicle. Vehicles of equivalent priority are generally selected in a first come, first served manner. A preemption request is issued to the controller for the approach direction with the highest priority vehicle travelling on it.
The weaknesses of this system are its high complexity and it relies on wired networks such as Ethernet or fiber optics and wireless networks such as Mesh or IEEE to detect the emergency vehicles, which will increase the cost of operating and maintaining the system, thus, further delays deployment.
The present invention provides a system that utilizes a long range radio signal frequency which will not be affected by weaknesses that face the strobe light systems due to weather conditions or lack of line-of-sight with the intersection.
Furthermore, the present preemption system is a better alternative to the Opticom® GPS system and other RF systems, because it is less complicated and more efficient and less costly, the intersection unit works in a very simple way and doesn't need to be connected to any network to achieve a high level of efficiency. The present system also provides feedback and alerting and warning method to emergency vehicles and non emergency vehicles.
Furthermore, the emergency vehicle's long range signal will allow the intersections to create safe Corridors. Thus, to increase the efficiency of the system without the need to preset or assign a travelling route. The simplicity of the intersection unit configuration will decrease the maintenance and managing cost.
Security and Crime-Fighting System
Unlawful or forcible entry or attempted entry of a residence. This crime usually, but not always, involves theft. The illegal entry may be by force, such as breaking a window or slashing a screen, or may be without force by entering through an unlocked door or an open window. As long as the person entering has no legal right to be present in the structure a burglary has occurred. Furthermore, the structure need not be the house itself for a burglary to take place; illegal entry of a garage, shed, or any other structure on the premises also constitutes household burglary. If breaking and entering occurs in a hotel or vacation residence, it is still classified as a burglary for the household whose member or members were staying there at the time the entry occurred.
Violent crime includes murder, rape and sexual assault, robbery, and assault. Information about murder is obtained on a yearly basis from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reports. There are two measures for non-fatal violence—the Uniform Crime Reports (UCR) and the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS). NCVS measures rape or sexual assault, robbery, and aggravated and simple assault.
A motor vehicle, commonly referred to as a getaway car, is frequently used by the offender to flee the scene of a crime. Getaway cars are prevalent in major crimes such as bank robberies and homicides. Very frequently, but not always, a getaway car is stolen and is abandoned soon after the crime, in the hope that the vehicle cannot be traced to the offender.
If the vehicle does not belong to the driver and is quickly abandoned, a trace may not be possible without examination of forensic evidence. In some cases, the offender may go to extreme measures to discard the getaway vehicle in order to hide his ‘tracks’ by dumping it in a river or secluded park, and/or setting it on fire; while this may not make solving the crime impossible, it can make the effort more difficult for law enforcement. The criminal investigation can be further complicated by the use of multiple getaway vehicles, which can confuse eyewitnesses, as well as creating multiple places to investigate: each vehicle is a new crime scene. In Forensics for Dummies, the rookie is reminded: “At a minimum, the crime scene includes . . . Areas from which the site can be entered, exited, or even escaped.
Since a getaway vehicle often requires a getaway driver, this additional co-defendant creates problems in itself. First, having a second perpetrator involved creates yet another inchoate offence that the prosecutor can use in an indictment: conspiracy. Also, a co-conspirator may cooperate with police, either intentionally by ‘turning state's evidence’ by way of a plea bargain, or inadvertently by giving away information to persons outside the conspiracy. If the driver, who may have parked some distance away, unknowingly drives past the scene of the crime, the getaway vehicle itself may identify the occupants to the crime victim and police. This is especially true if the vehicle has unique markings or is an unusual model. Without a driver, the perpetrator may make errors due to the stress associated with the crime, or lack of ability to multi-task (such as leaving the car keys at the scene of the crime); a murderer needs to “think strategically” to get away with murder—to “mislead police, stage crime scenes and destroy evidence.” Taking a public bus or taxicab makes the driver an involuntary co-conspirator, yet also creates an eyewitness whose interest it is to cooperate with police.
Witnesses to the crime will often attempt to take note of the tags (registration plate) or other important details of the car and report this information to law enforcement. It may be possible to identify the offender if an officer spots the offender in possession of the vehicle prior to its abandonment.
Thus, the present invention created a system and a method to help law enforcement identify the offenders in quick and efficient manners, by identifying the suspect vehicles that may be used by the offenders. Therefore, logging the vehicles that come nearby a spot logging unit and storing the logged data combined with real-time can grant the law enforcement instantly a quick access to the logged information from the crime scene logging unit.
Prior systems generally rely on continuously logging the vehicles' locations in a central database, these database systems are similar to the database systems used by cellphone carriers. And when there is a need to obtain data relevant to a particular location ‘crime scene’, the law enforcement follows the legal protocol to obtain these vital records from the database carrier. The serious weakness of these systems is the wasting of the critical time just after the crime. A plenty of valuable time will be lost during the process of obtaining the logged records from the database carrier. Therefore, the offenders will have a good chance to abandon the getaway vehicle and may get rid of some important evidence. Also prior systems may violate the privacy rights of the vehicles' owners by having their movement continually monitored and stored in a central database for a long period of time. Thus, the present invention relies on individually owned spot logging units to be used for security and protection reasons (similar to the vedio cameras' purpose), to obtain an immediate access to the stored data, these individually owned spot logging units can be installed in homes, public parks, banks, schools, and commercial properties such as malls, gas stations, grocery stores, warehouses, parking lots, . . . etc.
Spot Logging Unit
This unit uses the short range (0.1 mile) radio frequency transceiver module to communicate with the vehicle unit. And comprises a memory to store the data transmitted by the vehicle unit.
Generally, vehicles drop their speed when they come to stop, therefore the vehicle unit will transmit a logging signal when its speed goes under (15 MPH) via the short range (0.1 mile) signal to alert the spot logging unit. And if there is any spot logging unit in the range of the transmitted signal, the spot logging unit will respond and send “log command” to the vehicle. The vehicle will reply by periodically transmit its VIN code combined with location and real-time, until the vehicle's speed goes to (zero). And when the vehicle's speed goes above (zero), the vehicle unit will periodically transmit its VIN code combined with location and real-time. The vehicle will stop transmitting after its speed goes above (15 mph). By obtaining the start time of logging and the end time of logging we can determine the period of time the vehicle was at the scene. The memory chip of the spot logging unit could store the logged data for a long period of time.
Missing Person Search and Crime-Fighting Method
Many kids and loved ones go missing every year, and this may cause a huge pain and severe long lasting psychological trauma for the parents, family members and friends. People go missing for a number of reasons, an old person with the Alzheimer's disease may wander around or get lost without the ability to contact his family or his care giver. Some of the teenagers runaway from their families is often a common problem. Children and adults may go missing when they become victims of a foul play.
Generally when a loved one goes missing, panic occurs, and his family's mind is in turmoil, his family accounts—in as much detail as possible where the person was and what he was doing before he went missing. This may urge calling friends, family members or going to places that the person frequents, and finally filing a missing person report with the local police.
Furthermore, robbery or burglary is a serious crime when a perpetrator commits an offence, usually that offence will be theft. Generally the perpetrator or perpetrators use a getaway car to escape the crime scene after committing the offence. There are some known ways the police use to fight bank robbery crimes, such as hiding a GPS device with cash stolen by the robbery suspect, and tracking him down then arresting him. Also banks may use RFID tags hidden with the cash to assist in tracking the stolen cash, which may lead to the arrest of a suspect robber.
Radio-frequency identification (RFID) are used for the purposes of automatically identifying and tracking tags attached to objects, such as personal possessions, clothing, cash, . . . etc. The tags contain electronically stored information. Some types of very short range (a few meters) active tags have an on-board tiny battery and periodically transmit their identification signal.
The present invention utilizes the RFID technology to allow the very short range (few meters) read-only active RFID tags to be logged in the vehicle unit at a real-time, to make a real connection between the missing person or the stolen object that carries the RFID tag and a vehicle or vehicles to assist in a quick and efficient tracking, also to use this connection as an evidence in criminal cases.
Generally, when an active RFID tag passes through the field of the scanning antenna, it detects the activation signal from the antenna. That “wakes up” the RFID chip, and it transmits the information on its microchip to be picked up by the scanning antenna of the tag reader (interrogator).
Whereas, radio-frequency identification (RFID) active tag of the present invention uses a very short range preferably (2 to 3 meter) radio frequency to communicate with the vehicle unit over its short range frequency transceiver. The tag will automatically and periodically transmit its identification signal (once every one or few minutes to protect its on-board battery from wearing out in a short time, the user can remove the in-board battery every time the tag is not in use). Additionally, in another embodiment of the active RFID tag, the tag will start periodically transmit its identification signal every time the user activates it by pressing on a button integrated in it), and when the vehicle unit comes in the range of the tag signal, it will store the tag ID in real-time status. Therefore, the vehicle unit programmed to create a tag report which contains the tag ID, the VIN code of the vehicle, the date/time and period of time in which the tag was logged in the vehicle.
RFID tag command is used to allow the vehicles' units to send a report about a particular tag number “target tag”. The police unit will transmit the RFID tag command or the clone command paired with the RFID tag command combined with the cell-phone codes, the local dispatch center's phone number, the target tag number and a time window. Time window is a period of time in minutes, for example (60 or 120 minutes), to allow the vehicle unit to randomly select a time within the time window to connect to the cellular network and send the RFID tag report. This way if the tag was logged in a number of vehicles, each one of these vehicles can connect and report in different times without any possible interference.
Children Safety in Hot-Cars
The statistics of Heat-stroke Deaths of Children in Vehicles in the untied states of America, indicated that. So far in 2014 there have been at least five heat-stroke deaths of children in vehicles; four confirmed as heatstroke and the other one still pending official findings by the medical examiner. Last year, 2013, there were at least forty-four deaths of children in vehicles; thirty-nine which has been confirmed as heatstroke and five which, based upon the known circumstances, are most likely heatstroke (2013 list). In 2012 there were 34 deaths of children due to hyperthermia (heatstroke) after being left in or having gained access to hot cars, trucks, vans and SUV's. Since 1998 there have been at least 606 documented cases of heatstroke deaths of children in vehicles. This data and study shows that these incidents can occur on days with relatively mild (i.e., ˜70 degrees F.) temperatures and that vehicles can reach life-threatening temperatures very rapidly.
The atmosphere and the windows of a vehicle are relatively “transparent” to the sun's shortwave radiation and are warmed little. However this shortwave energy does heat objects that it strikes. For example, a dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in the range of 180 to over 200 degrees F.
These objects (e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, childseat) heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and also give off longwave radiation which is very efficient at warming the air trapped inside a vehicle. Heatstroke occurs when a person's temperature exceeds 104 degrees F. and their thermoregulatory mechanism is overwhelmed. Children's thermoregulatory systems are not as efficient as an adult's and their body temperatures warm at a rate 3 to 5 times faster than an adult's. Study of temperature rise in enclosed vehicles concluded that the temperature inside the enclosed vehicle may reach 115 deg F. in just 30 minutes in an average Ambient temperature of 80 degrees F.
The present invention creates a new method of warning and alerting the parents or the caregivers when a child is being left in or having access to hot vehicles. The concept of this method is to attach an active RFID tag to the child and when the temperature inside the vehicle reaches a critical point for a predetermine period of time such as (5 to 10 minutes) for example, along with the presence of the tag. The vehicle unit will trigger the warning by either using the vehicle's siren and/or calling the (parents or the caregivers) phone number.